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| THE
FEAST OF MERCY During the course of Jesus' revelations
to Saint Faustina on the Divine Mercy He asked on numerous occasions
that a feast day be dedicated to the Divine Mercy and that this
feast be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. The liturgical texts
of that day, the 2nd Sunday of Easter, concern the institution of
the Sacrament of Penance, the Tribunal of the Divine Mercy, and
are thus already suited to the request of Our Lord. This Feast,
which had already been granted to the nation of Poland and been
celebrated within Vatican City, was granted to the Universal Church
by Pope John Paul II on the occasion of the canonization of Sr.
Faustina on 30 April 2000. In a decree dated 23 May 2000, the Congregation
for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments stated that
"throughout the world the Second Sunday of Easter will receive
the name Divine Mercy Sunday, a perennial invitation to the Christian
world to face, with confidence in divine benevolence, the difficulties
and trials that mankind will experience in the years to come."
These papal acts represent the highest endorsement that the Church
can give to a private revelation, an act of papal infallibility
proclaiming the certain sanctity of the mystic, and the granting
of a universal feast, as requested by Our Lord to St. Faustina.
Concerning the Feast of Mercy Jesus said:
Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted
complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. (Diary 300)
I want the image solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter,
and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may know
about it. (Diary 341)
This Feast emerged from the very depths of My mercy, and it is confirmed
in the vast depths of my tender mercies. (Diary 420)
On one occasion, I heard these words: My daughter, tell the whole
world about My Inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy
be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners.
On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour
out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount
of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy
Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.*
[our emphasis] On that day all the divine floodgates through which
grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even
though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind,
be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all
eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths
of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will I
contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of
Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire
that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter.
Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.
(Diary 699)
Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there
must also be deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for
Me. You are to show mercy to our neighbors always and everywhere.
You must not shrink from this or try to absolve yourself from it.
(Diary 742)
I want to grant complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession
and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My mercy. (Diary 1109).
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| LIVES
OF THE SAINTS |
SEPTEMBER 1
ST. GILES
St. Giles was born in Athens, Greece, in early times. When his parents died, he used the large fortune they left him to help the poor. 
SEPTEMBER 2
BLESSED JOHN DU LAU AND THE SEPTEMBER MARTYRS
Blessed John was the archbishop of Arles, France..
SEPTEMBER 3
ST. GREGORY THE GREAT
St. Gregory was born in 540 in Rome. His father was a senator. His mother is a saint, St. Celia.
SEPTEMBER 4
ST. ROSE OF VITERBO
St. Rose was born in 1235 in Viterbo, Italy. She lived at the time when Emperor Frederick had conquered land that belonged to the Church.
SEPTEMBER 5
ST. LAWRENCE JUSTINIAN
St. Lawrence Justinian was born in Venice, Italy, in 1381.
SEPTEMBER 6
BLESSED BERTRAND
Blessed Bertrand lived in the last half of the twelfth and first part of the thirteenth centuries.
SEPTEMBER 7
BLESSED JOHN DUCKETT AND BLESSED RALPH CORBY
Blessed James Duckett studied at the English college of Douay and became a priest in 1639.
SEPTEMBER 8
BIRTH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
We do not usually celebrate the birthdays of the saints.
SEPTEMBER 9
ST. PETER CLAVER
St. Peter Claver, the Spanish priest of the Society of Jesus was born in 1580.
SEPTEMBER 10
ST. NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINO
St. Nicholas was born in 1245 in Ancona, Italy. His parents had waited long and anxiously for a child.
SEPTEMBER 11
BLESSED LOUIS OF THURINGIA
Blessed Loius, the German prince, lived during the last part of the twelfth and first part of the thirteenth centuries.
SEPTEMBER 13
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
St. John Chrysostom was born in Antioch around 344.
SEPTEMBER 15
OUR LADY OF SORROWS
Our Lady had many great joys as the mother of Jesus, but she had much to suffer, too.
SEPTEMBER 16
ST. CORNELIUS AND ST. CYPRIAN
St. Cornelius, a holy priest of Rome, was elected Pope in 251. He accepted because he loved Christ.
SEPTEMBER 17
ST. ROBERT BELLARMINE
St. Robert Bellarmine was born in Italy in 1542.
SEPTEMBER 18
ST. JOSEPH OF CUPERTINO
St. Joseph was born on June 17, 1603, in a small Italian village to poor parents.
SEPTEMBER 19
ST. JANUARIUS
St. Januarius lived in the fourth century. He was born either in Benevento or Naples, Italy.
SEPTEMBER 20
ST. ANDREW KIM TAEGON AND ST. PAUL CHONG HASANG
St. Andrew Kim Taegon was a priest and St. Paul Chong Hasang was a lay person.
SEPTEMBER 21
ST. MATTHEW
St. Matthew was a tax collector in the city of Capernaum, where Jesus was living.
SEPTEMBER 22
ST. THOMAS OF VILLANOVA
St. Thomas was born in Spain in 1488.
SEPTEMBER 24
ST. PACIFICUS
St. Pacificus, a little Italian boy born in 1653 was named Charles Anthony. He was just five years old when his loving parents died.
SEPTEMBER 25
ST. SERGIUS
St. Serguis, the famous Russian saint lived in the fourteenth century.
SEPTEMBER 27
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL
St. Vincent de Paul, the son of poor French peasants, was born in 1581.
SEPTEMBER 28
ST. LAWRENCE RUIZ AND COMPANIONS
St. Lawrence Ruiz, and his fifteen companions were killed for their faith in 1637, in Nagasaki, Japan.
SEPTEMBER 29
ST. MICHAEL, ST. GABRIEL, ST. RAPHAEL
Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are called "saints" because they are holy.
SEPTEMBER 30
ST. JEROME
St. Jerome was a Roman Christian who lived in the fourth century.
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PHOTO OF THE MONTH |
Tour
of the Relics of the Passion
(International Center
for Holy Relics)
www.HolyRelics.org
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| REFLECTIONS |
 “Jesus’
Baptism”
Why did Jesus, the sinless one sent from the Father in heaven,
submit himself to John’s baptism? John preached a
baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke
3:3). In this humble submission we see a foreshadowing of
the “baptism” of Jesus bloody death upon the
cross. Jesus’ baptism is the acceptance and the beginning
of his mission as God’s suffering Servant (Isaiah
52:13-15; 53:1-12). He allowed himself to be numbered among
sinners. Jesus submitted himself entirely to his Father’s
will. Out of love he consented to this baptism of death
for the remission of our sins. Do you know the joy of trust
and submission to God?
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